IBO Boxing Honesty and Integrity
By Scoop Malinowski
Golovkin vs Alvarez is going to be an exciting clash of middleweight titans but the “War of Words” aspect of the fight has been a dud.
Neither champion has dared to say anything remotely disrespectful or offensive about the other and subsequently that’s lessened the excitement heading into fight week next week.
If only Golovkin and Canelo had an edge and brashness to vent some psychological warfare verbal blasts like these historic gems…
Iran Barkley vs Hearns: “His legs are gone. He’s got two or three nails in his coffin already and I’ve got the rest of the nails.”
Evander Holyfield vs Tyson: “This is my game, my trade. I’ve been everywhere he’s been, except prison. You can’t just outbox him, you have got to be prepared to fight. The point is that to beat a guy like that, you’ve got to fight him to get his respect, and then box him. If he puts you in a corner, you have to fight. If you have space, then you can box. You have to do both. And if a guy can’t fight, he’s not going to win. I’m ready for November 9. I want to be champion of the world again. Everybody hypes Tyson up to be the man. We all know what fear is. But Tyson knows he’s going in with a guy who isn’t afraid of him. He knows I’ve been through a lot of adversity, same as him. But all big punchers are affected when they get hit. They’re used to doing the hitting and I don’t think Tyson’s the sort of guy to get up when he goes down…” [At this point a seething Tyson suddenly rose from his seat on the dais and said to Holyfield: “You got nothing coming on November 9. Nothing. I’m gonna enjoy this fight. I can’t wait till November 9.”
Lennox Lewis vs Holyfield: “Evader Holyfield.”
Felix Trinidad vs Hopkins: “You’ve been doing things that we Puerto Ricans don’t like. And you know you’ve been doing that. You will feel my punches in the ring.”
Bernard Hopkins vs Trinidad: “I want to offer Trinidad a last meal (He then plunked down a bag of beans and a bag of rice in front of the seething fighter at his dais seat).”
Antonio Tarver vs Jones: “He’s facing the most dangerous fighter he’s ever faced. Bar none. As far as being defensive. I’m going to destroy him. I’m a hungry fighter. A hungry fighter that’s determined to destroy him. I won’t stop until I’m victorious on November 8th. He’s facing the most dangerous fighter he could face. Roy Jones has always known what Antonio Tarver’s capabilities were. You can write it any way you want but you can’t see me through Roy Jones Jr.’s eyes. And no one can see him through mine. Fighters know each other. He knows my determination. He knows my ability. A slick confident southpaw with power in both hands. A defensive wizard and a guy that knows his way around that ring. I’m no Richard Frazier, I’m no Michelchewski. I am a guy that is seasoned through the amateurs, dominated at all levels and I came back and took the biggest risk of all when I didn’t have to. That’s face Eric Harding, the one considered the second best heavyweight in the world, not because he got a win over Antonio Tarver but because of his competitive fight with Roy Jones, Jr. I came back and I destroyed Eric Harding. That in itself speaks volumes. I fought this guy when I didn’t have to. If I was one of these other pretenders I would have sat back and said, “Please Roy Jones, give me an opportunity.”
Mike Tyson vs McBride: “I’m going to gut you like a fish.”
